DOCSLIB.ORG

Aje-Olokun As a Deity for Swearing Among the Yoruba Natives

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Aje-Olokun As a Deity for Swearing Among the Yoruba Natives Originalni nauni rad UDK: 259.42–145.6:343.145 Matthias Olufemi Dada Ojo1 Department of Sociology Crawford University of the Apostolic Faith Mission Igbesa, Ogun state, Nigeria AJE-OLOKUN AS A DEITY FOR SWEARING AMONG THE YORUBA NATIVES Abstract: Using historical approach and qualitative methods, the paper examines the power of Aje-Olokun as a deity for swearing among the Yoruba natives. The article identified and explained three different methods through which invocation of Aje- Olokun can be done during swearing in order to solve controversial issues with regard to lying and stealing. The consequences of swearing falsely were also discussed. The paper also proposes cultural documentation of the traditional administration of Justice through deities for the preservation of knowledge for future generations. The admini- stration of the traditional swearing methods through deities was advocated to be incor- porated in the modern Criminal Justice System. The research investigation of other deities and their relevancies in administration of justice was also recommended. Keywords: Aje-Olokun; Deities; Yoruba Natives; Swearing; Criminal Justice System Introduction Yoruba natives believe strongly in the existence of deities. These deities play significant roles in their lives in all ramifications. They seek help for abun- dance and prosperity from some of these deities and run to them when misfortu- nes dodged their ways. These people equally looked up to these deities for pro- tection and guidance when important decisions have to be made. The deities al- so featured in their traditional Criminal Justice System in area of punishment of the offenders and oath taking to settle a controversial issue among them. Ogun and Sango are prominent gods that can be involved to punish offen- ders and to take oath when a controversial issue has to be settled (Okunola and Ojo 2012). However, apart from these deities (Ogun and Sango) other de- ities can also be invoked to settle controversial issues among the Yoruba nati- ves, through oath taking. One of these deities is Aje-Olokun which is acclai- med to be the deity of the ocean. This work, therefore, re-examined Aje-Olo- 1 [email protected] Antropologija 14, sv. 1 (2014) Matthias Olufemi Dada Ojo kun as a deity for oath taking among the Yoruba people. The experience and observation show that the invocation of this deity in oath taking is fast dying out among the Yoruba people and therefore, a need to re-examine Aje-Olokun as a deity for oath taking is imperative. Review of the literature Aje-Olokun is a deity of the sea and ocean. The deity dwells in an immen- se palace under the sea (Baudin 1885). Ogundiran (2002) argued that there are indications that Olokun was a deity of the ocean/sea especially among the co- astal Yoruba fishing communities before the advent of the Atlantic economy. The cultural attributes and biography of both Okun and Olokun increased with the advent of Atlantic commerce. In summary, the sea beneath the sky is the dwelling place of Olokun which is the deity of wealth and money and which controls all the activities going on beneath the oceans and on the oceans (Akinmade 2005). The Bini’s Origin of Olokun can be traced to Osanobua (the arch-divinity) and Anume, his wife who had three children called (in order of birth): Obiem- wen, Olokun, and Ogiuwu. Bini customs establishing ‘male seniority’ over fe- male promote Olokun to a position of authority over his elder sister Obiem- wen. One day Osanobua sent his three children, empowered with his autho- rity, to create the world. At that time the world was an endless expanse of wa- ter. When they reached the centre of the watery world, Obiemwen turned over the snail shell and an endless stream of sand poured out. After the earth had been carefully walked on by the chameleon and found firm enough to support life, Osanobua divided the world between his children. Obiemwen was given control over childbirth and agriculture. She was a protector of pregnancy and childbirth. And because of her association with food and fertility, people also appeal to her in times of famine and pestilence. Olokun received power to bestow wealth, and Ogiuwu became the dispenser of death. Osanobua then sent Olokun to the world to become Oba/King of the sea (Mason 1996). According to Mason (1996), Yoruba legends tell us that Obatala and his wife Odua had two children, Yemoja and Aganju, who married and had a son called Orunga (lofty sky). Orunga raped his mother. In fleeing from his furt- her advances, she fell down and her body began to swell up. Two streams of water gushed from Yemoja’s breasts, and her womb burst open. From her womb the following deities were born: Dada, Soponna, Sango, Ogun, Oya, Oba, Orun, Osupa, Olosa and Olokun. Yemoja is the mother of Olokun. Oba- tala and Odua are Olokun’s grandparents: either Aganju or Oranmiyan is cre- dited with being Olokun’s father. 116 Antropologija 14, sv. 1 (2014) Aje-Olokun as a Deity... Another legend, argued by Dadepo (2003), was that according to Ife oral tradition, Osara and Olokun were bosom friends. Olokun had married Odudu- wa for several years without a child. Olokun was acknowledged to be extre- mely beautiful and wealthy as a result of bead making and trade in beads. She persuaded Osara to marry her husband (Oduduwa). Probably through her, Oduduwa might have children. The marriage between Osara and Oduduwa was blessed with a male child named "Okanbi". As a result, Oduduwa loved Osara dearly to the extent that she accompanied him wherever he went to the annoyance of Olokun. Soon after the birth of Okanbi, jealousy ensued betwe- en Osara and Olokun. This annoyed Olokun greatly and she swore never to have anything to do with Osara in life. But Osara promised to follow her whe- rever she went. According to the oral tradition, Olokun in annoyance, left Ife but Osara followed her as promised, from Ife to Ilesha, from Ilesha to Abeo- kuta and from Abeokuta to Lagos where Olokun fell down and turned into "Okun" an ocean (see figure1) and Osara also fell and she turned into "Osa" a lagoon (see figure 2). Olokun, owing to her earlier vow, was still annoyed that she would not have anything to do with Osara. A critical historical explanation considered Olokun as a man or male wit- hin the legends of Bini people while the Yoruba legends considered Olokun as a woman or a female. However, we are not concerned with the gender of the deity but the explanation of the deity as the ruler of the oceans and seas, and deity for swearing. Olokun is a deity of wealth and riches as explained earlier on. The wealth of the deity came from the manufacturing of beads and trading in beads. Ogundiran (2002) argued that archaeological evidence for the local manufac- ture of beads at Ile-Ife comes mainly from Olokun grove located about two and half kilometers north of the centre of the ancient city where artifacts such as ceramic crucibles fused with glass and beads in rich variety of blue, green, red, olive-brown, and turquoise colours, and pieces of tuyeres, furnaces pot- tery, and terracotta sculptures have been found. Ogundiran (2002) argued furt- her, that other evidences of bead manufactured from the grove consist of groo- ved or dimpled stones that were used for grinding and polishing beads. Among the Yoruba natives, beads are valuable and precious jewelry used by the rich, chiefs and the kings throughout Yoruba society. Beads (see figu- res 3,4, and 5) are attributed to Olokun deity which is considered to be the de- ity in charge of riches, wealth and valuables of life. Olokun is considered to be the god/goddess of wealth, keeper of the rich storehouse of beads, giver of children, owner of a palace of cowries (riches) (see figure 6) beneath the ocean, and the patron-deity of the traders (Ogundiran 2002). Olokun is given a prominent position among the Yoruba natives. In order to demonstrate the prominence of this deity, gigantic Ori-Olokun cultural edi- fice, the head of the goddess of the sea, mother of fertility and prosperity, was Antropologija 14, sv. 1 (2014) 117 Matthias Olufemi Dada Ojo commissioned at Mayfair Round about, Ife central local Government in Osun State, Nigeria (Adeshina 2013) and Olokun festival was equally held at Sultan Beach, Badagry, on October 28, 2011. (Adeniyi 2011). Olokun is considered a deity which can bestow Ire Aje (blessing of abundance) on the individual Yoruba natives who consult the deity (Fatunmibi n.d). Finally Olokun is consulted when important but controversial matter is to be clarified. This can be done through swearing using Olokun as a deity. Olokun hates lying and would not tolerate liers. Baudin (1885) argued that Olokun, in a moment of anger, attempted to destroy mankind because of their propensity to lie. He had almost exterminated them when Obatala interfered and forced him back to the sea where he remained chained in his palace forever. From time to time, his effort to break his chains creates the storms on the ocean. It is from the hatred that this deity has against the liars that makes him to be a strong deity to reckon with when it comes to swearing among the Yoruba people. This was exactly what this article re-examined. Methodology Historical approach was used in this research work. Historical approach is being increasingly used by social scientists today in Sociology, Anthropology, Political Science, and Economics, likewise the Historians (Schutt 2004). Hi- story entails looking at the past in an effort to learn what happened.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • P E E L C H R Is T Ian It Y , Is L a M , an D O R Isa R E Lig Io N
    PEEL | CHRISTIANITY, ISLAM, AND ORISA RELIGION Luminos is the open access monograph publishing program from UC Press. Luminos provides a framework for preserving and rein- vigorating monograph publishing for the future and increases the reach and visibility of important scholarly work. Titles published in the UC Press Luminos model are published with the same high standards for selection, peer review, production, and marketing as those in our traditional program. www.luminosoa.org Christianity, Islam, and Orisa Religion THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF CHRISTIANITY Edited by Joel Robbins 1. Christian Moderns: Freedom and Fetish in the Mission Encounter, by Webb Keane 2. A Problem of Presence: Beyond Scripture in an African Church, by Matthew Engelke 3. Reason to Believe: Cultural Agency in Latin American Evangelicalism, by David Smilde 4. Chanting Down the New Jerusalem: Calypso, Christianity, and Capitalism in the Caribbean, by Francio Guadeloupe 5. In God’s Image: The Metaculture of Fijian Christianity, by Matt Tomlinson 6. Converting Words: Maya in the Age of the Cross, by William F. Hanks 7. City of God: Christian Citizenship in Postwar Guatemala, by Kevin O’Neill 8. Death in a Church of Life: Moral Passion during Botswana’s Time of AIDS, by Frederick Klaits 9. Eastern Christians in Anthropological Perspective, edited by Chris Hann and Hermann Goltz 10. Studying Global Pentecostalism: Theories and Methods, by Allan Anderson, Michael Bergunder, Andre Droogers, and Cornelis van der Laan 11. Holy Hustlers, Schism, and Prophecy: Apostolic Reformation in Botswana, by Richard Werbner 12. Moral Ambition: Mobilization and Social Outreach in Evangelical Megachurches, by Omri Elisha 13. Spirits of Protestantism: Medicine, Healing, and Liberal Christianity, by Pamela E.
    [Show full text]
  • AXÉ, ORIXÁ, XIRÊ E MÚSICA: Estudo De Música E Performance No Candomblé Queto Na Baixada Santista
    Jorge Luiz Ribeiro de Vasconcelos AXÉ, ORIXÁ, XIRÊ E MÚSICA: Estudo de música e performance no candomblé queto na Baixada Santista Tese apresentada ao Instituto de Artes, da Universidade Estadual de Campinas, para obtenção do Título de Doutor em Música. Orientador: Prof. Dr. José Roberto Zan . Campinas, 2010 FICHA CATALOGRÁFICA ELABORADA PELA BIBLIOTECA DO INSTITUTO DE ARTES DA UNICAMP Vasconcelos, Jorge Luiz Ribeiro de. V441a Axé, orixá, xirê e música: estudo de música e performance no candomblé queto na Baixada Santista. / Jorge Luiz Ribeiro de Vasconcelos. – Campinas, SP: [s.n.], 2010. Orientador: Prof. Dr. José Roberto Zan. Tese(doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Artes. 1. Candomblé. 2. Música afro-brasileira. 3. Religiões afro- brasileiras. 4. Música e religião. 5. Etnomusicologia. I. Zan, José Roberto. II. Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Instituto de Artes. III. Título. (em/ia) Título em inglês: “Axé, orixá, xirê and music: a study of music and performance in Candomblé Queto.” Palavras-chave em inglês (Keywords): Candomblé ; afro-brazilian music ; afro-brazilian religions ; music and religion ; ethnomusicology. Titulação: Doutor em Música. Banca examinadora: Prof. Dr. José Roberto Zan. Prof. Dr. Ângelo Nonato Natale Cardoso. Prof. Dr. Vagner Gonçalves da Silva. Prof. Dr. Fernando Augusto de Almeida Hashimoto. Prof. Dr. Antônio Rafael Carvalho dos Santos. Prof. Dr. Alberto Tsuyoshi Ikeda. Prof. Dr. Eduardo Vicente. Prof. Dr. Claudiney Rodrigues Carrasco. Data da Defesa: 30-03-2010 Programa de Pós-Graduação: Música. iv v Aos pais e mães, Julião Vasconcelos (em memória) e Helena Ribeiro de Vasconcelos; Marcos D'Ogun e Sandra D'Eloyá. vii AGRADECIMENTOS Agradeço: Primeiramente ao meu orientador Prof.
    [Show full text]
  • UNIVERSITY of IBADAN LIBRARY F~Fiva23ia Mige'tia: Abe Ky • by G.D
    - / L. L '* I L I Nigerla- magazine - # -\ I* .. L I r~.ifr F No. 136 .,- e, .0981 W1.50r .I :4 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY F~fiva23ia Mige'tia: ABe ky • By G.D. EKPENYONG (MRS) HIS BIBLIOGRAPHY IS COMING OUT AT A TIME TRADITIONAL RULERS ENCOURAGED THEIR PEOPLE TO AC- T WHEN THERE IS GENERAL OR NATIONAL AWARENESS CEPT ISLAM AND AS A CONSEQUENCE ACCEPT IT AND FOR THE REVIVAL OF OUR CULTURAL HERITage. It IS HOPED CELEBRATED FESTIVALS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS religion. THAT NIGERIANS AND ALIENS RESIDENT IN NigeRIa, FESTIVALS ARE PERIODIC RECURRING DAYS OR SEA- RESEARCHERS IN AFRICAN StudiES, WOULD FIND THIS SONS OF GAIETY OR MERRy-maKING SET ASIDE BY A PUBLICATION A GUIDE TO A BETTER KNOWLEDGE OF THE COMMUNITY, TRIBE OR CLAN, FOR THE OBSERVANCE OF CULTURAL HERITAGE AND DIVERSITY OF THE PEOPLES OF SACRED CELEBRATIOns, RELIGIOUS SOLEMNITIES OR MUs- NIGERIA. ICAL AND TRADITIONAL PERFORMANCE OF SPECIAL SIG- IT IS NECESSARY TO EMPHASISe, HOWEVER, THAT NIFICANCE. It IS AN OCCASION OF PUBLIC MANIFesta- ALTHOUGH THIS IS A PIONEERING EFFORT TO RECORD ALL TION OF JOY OR THE CELEBRATION OF A HISTORICAL OC- THE KNOWN AND UNKNOWN TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS CURRENCE LIKE THE CONQUEST OF A NEIGHBOURING HELD ANNUALLY OR IN SOME CASES, AFTER A LONG VILLAGE IN WAR. IT CAN TAKE THE FORM OF A RELIGIOUS INTERVAL OF TIMe, THIS BIBLIOGRAPHY IS BY NO MEANS CELEBRATION DURING WHICH SACRIFICES ARE OFFERED TO EXHAUSTIVE. THE DIFFERENT GODS HAVING POWER OVER RAIN, Sun- SHINE, MARRIAGE AND GOOD HARVEST. Introduction He IS THE MOST ANCIENT OF ALL YORUBA TOWNS AND NigerIa, ONE OF THE LARGEST COUNTRIES IN AFRIca, IS REGARDED BY ALL YORUBAS AS THE FIRST CITY FROM IS RICH IN CULTURE AND TRADITIOn.
    [Show full text]
  • Roger Atwood Searching for a Head in Nigeria
    roger atwood Searching for a Head in Nigeria A century ago, a German colonialist went to Nigeria and found a bronze masterpiece. Then, it vanished. Nigerians have been asking themselves what happened to it ever since. Now they may have the answer. A place of “lofty trees . as beautiful as Paradise.” So the German adventurer Leo Frobenius described the sacred Olokun Grove in Ife in 1910. For months before I arrived in Nigeria, I wondered what the grove would look like. Now I was riding in a car to see the grove with a delegation of curators and archaeologists from the Ife museum. They had a certain ceremoni- ousness I had come to expect from educated Nigerians, and they were snappy dressers. While I sweated through my khakis and linen shirt, the women in the delegation wore flowered dresses and matching head- dresses, and they curtsied deeply and held out their hand coquettishly when we were introduced. The men called me “sir” and wore tailored robes with a matching cap, or immaculately ironed Western trousers and a pressed shirt and never a T-shirt or, God forbid, shorts. The Olokun Grove was on Irebami Street, near Line 3. It was a neighborhood of rut- ted streets and ramshackle houses, some with posters on their walls ad- vertising Nollywood movies or displaying President Goodluck Jonathan’s jowly face grafted onto the emerald bands of the national flag. In three weeks’ time, the people of Africa’s most populous country would vote in presidential elections. Not my concern. I was going to see a place as beautiful as Paradise.
    [Show full text]
  • Black Music of All Colors
    SÉRIE ANTROPOLOGIA 145 BLACK MUSIC OF ALL COLORS. THE CONSTRUCTION OF BLACK ETHNICITY IN RITUAL AND POPULAR GENRES OF AFRO-BRAZILIAN MUSIC José Jorge de Carvalho Brasília 1993 Black Music of all colors. The construction of Black ethnicity in ritual and popular genres of Afro-Brazilian Music. José Jorge de Carvalho University of Brasília The aim of this essay is to present an overview of the charter of Afro-Brazilian identities, emphasizing their correlations with the main Afro-derived musical styles practised today in the country. Given the general scope of the work, I have chosen to sum up this complex mass of data in a few historical models. I am interested, above all, in establishing a contrast between the traditional models of identity of the Brazilian Black population and their musics with recent attempts, carried out by the various Black Movements, and expressed by popular, commercial musicians who formulate protests against that historical condition of poverty and unjustice, forging a new image of Afro- Brazilians, more explicit, both in political and in ideological terms. To focus such a vast ethnographic issue, I shall analyse the way these competing models of identity are shaped by the different song genres and singing styles used by Afro-Brazilians running through four centuries of social and cultural experience. In this connection, this study is also an attempt to explore theoretically the more abstract problems of understanding the efficacy of songs; in other words, how in mythopoetics, meaning and content are revealed in aesthetic symbolic structures which are able to mingle so powerfully verbal with non-verbal modes of communication.
    [Show full text]
  • Ondo State Pocket Factfinder
    INTRODUCTION Ondo is one of the six states that make up the South West geopolitical zone of Nigeria. It has interstate boundaries with Ekiti and Kogi states to the north, Edo State to the east, Delta State to the southeast, Osun State to the northwest and Ogun State to the southwest. The Gulf of Guinea lies to its south and its capital is Akure. ONDO: THE FACTS AND FIGURES Dubbed as the Sunshine State, Ondo, which was created on February 3, 1976, has a population of 3,441,024 persons (2006 census) distributed across 18 local councils within a land area of 14,788.723 Square Kilometres. Located in the South-West geo-political zone of Nigeria, Ondo State is bounded in the North by Ekiti/Kogi states; in the East by Edo State; in the West by Oyo and Ogun states, and in the South by the Atlantic Ocean. Ondo State is a multi-ethnic state with the majority being Yoruba while there are also the Ikale, Ilaje, Arogbo and Akpoi, who are of Ijaw extraction and inhabit the riverine areas of the state. The state plays host to 880 public primary schools, and 190 public secondary schools and a number of tertiary institutions including the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State Polytechnic, Owo, Federal College of Agriculture, Akure and Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo. Arguably, Ondo is one of the most resource-endowed states of Nigeria. It is agriculturally rich with agriculture contributing about 75 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The main revenue yielding crops are cocoa, palm produce and timber.
    [Show full text]
  • El Concepto De Vida Y Muerte En La Religión Yoruba
    El concepto de vida y muerte en la religión yoruba Leonel Gámez Céspedes Sociedad Yoruba de México, A. C. os conceptos de vida y muerte para las personas que no comprenden nues- tra religión, y aun para muchos practicantes de la misma, son confusos y L llenos de lo que un lector casual llamaría “ambigüedades”. Sin embargo, en la mentalidad yoruba cada uno de los procesos de nuestra vida y nuestra muerte lleva pasos a recorrer, pues el concepto de ambas es equivalente al de hacer un via- je. De hecho, en nuestra religión todas las consagraciones que recibimos llevan lo que se denomina un itán, o sea un “camino” en su traducción al español. Esta sen- da a seguir que se nos traza nos llevará a la culminación de nuestras vidas con éxi- tos, prosperidad y sobre todo una larga existencia y una buena muerte. Muchos de los conceptos yoruba que veremos serán familiares a personas que conozcan algo de mitología griega. Como veremos, la muerte no está excluida y es parte del camino que debemos recorrer. Cada fase de nuestra muerte es precedida por alguna deidad o entidad que tiene una función en este proceso que nos toca pasar. En esta fase veremos que pasamos a ser un alma al morir y cómo después podemos pasar a ser un “ancestro venerado”. De hecho, si nuestra vida ha sido muy ejemplar, al morir podemos llegar a ser un egungun (ancestro venerado) o un orisha familiar o comunitario. En nuestra religión el concepto se recoge en la frase popular Ikú lobi ocha: “El muerto pare al santo”.
    [Show full text]
  • ALAIANDÊ Xirê DESAFIOS DA CULTURA RELIGIOSA AFRO-AMERICANA NO SÉCULO XXI ORGANIZAÇÃO VAGNER GONÇALVES DA SILVA ROSENILTON SILVA DE OLIVEIRA JOSÉ PEDRO DA SILVA NETO
    ORGANIZAÇÃO VAGNER GONÇALVES DA SILVA ROSENILTON SILVA DE OLIVEIRA JOSÉ PEDRO DA SILVA NETO ALAIANDÊ XirÊ DESAFIOS DA CULTURA RELIGIOSA AFRO-AMERICANA NO SÉCULO XXI ORGANIZAÇÃO VAGNER GONÇALVES DA SILVA ROSENILTON SILVA DE OLIVEIRA JOSÉ PEDRO DA SILVA NETO ALAIANDÊ XIRÊ DESAFIOS DA CULTURA RELIGIOSA AFRO-AMERICANA NO SÉCULO XXI ORGANIZAÇÃO VAGNER GONÇALVES DA SILVA ROSENILTON SILVA DE OLIVEIRA JOSÉ PEDRO DA SILVA NETO DOI: 10.11606/9786550130060 ALAIANDÊ XIRÊ DESAFIOS DA CULTURA RELIGIOSA AFRO-AMERICANA NO SÉCULO XXI São Paulo 2019 Os autores autorizam a reprodução e divulgação total ou parcial deste trabalho, por qualquer meio convencional ou eletrônico, para fns de estudo e pesquisa, desde que citada a fonte. Universidade de São Paulo Reitor: Vahan Agopyan Vice-reitor: Antonio Carlos Hernandes Faculdade de Educação Diretor: Prof. Dr. Marcos Garcia Neira Vice-Diretor: Prof. Dr. Vinicio de Macedo Santos Direitos desta edição reservados à FEUSP Avenida da Universidade, 308 Cidade Universitária – Butantã 05508-040 – São Paulo – Brasil (11) 3091-2360 e-mail: [email protected] http://www4.fe.usp.br/ Catalogação na Publicação Serviço de Biblioteca e Documentação Faculdade de Educação da Universidade de São Paulo A316 Alaiandê Xirê: desafos da cultura religiosa afro-americana no Século XXI / Vagner Gonçalves da Silva, Rosenilton Silva de Oliveira, José Pedro da Silva Neto (Organizadores). São Paulo: FEUSP, 2019. 382 p. Vários autores ISBN: 978-65-5013-006-0 (E-book) DOI: 10.11606/9786550130060 1. Candomblé. 2. Cultura afro. 3. Religião. 4. Religiões africanas. I. Silva, Vagner Gonçalves da. II. Oliveira, Rosenilton Silva de. III. Silva Neto, José Pedro. IV. Título.
    [Show full text]
  • Transnational Yoruba Revivalism and the Diasporic Politics of Heritage
    KAMARI MAXINE CLARKE Yale University Transnational Yoruba revivalism and the diasporic politics of heritage ABSTRACT f an anthropological study of a “village,” however rendered, can pro- This article explores the making of social vide a statement about the world writ small, what message can the membership in U.S.-based deterritorialized contexts world at large offer to a small community constructed on the his- and interrogate the ways that black-Atlantic torical abyss of the triangular slave trade? Oyotunji African Village is diasporic imaginaries are intertwined to produce a Yoruba community in South Carolina created by black Americans transnational notions of linkage. In charting a Iwho, although born in the United States, have set the goal of reclaiming the genealogy of a transnational orisa movement that orisa-voodoo spiritual practices of Nigeria as their own.1 Although the site came of age in a moment of black-nationalist typifies the very small rural community that the sociological literature often protest, I pose questions about how such a study refers to as an “intentional community,” in the sense of providing a sepa- should be understood in relation to ethnographies of rate domestic arena both within and outside of a nation-state, it is neither global networks. I argue that, despite their a local village with regional community ties nor a homogenized population seemingly thin representations of broad forms of reducible to a single location. linkage, transnational orisa networks produce In this article, I discuss the significance of Oyotunji Village as a site within culturally portable practices that articulate networks of Yoruba revivalism throughout the United States and as a man- important transformations: They shape institutions ifestation of contemporary global mobilizations of orisa spiritualism.
    [Show full text]
  • Art in Ancient Ife, Birthplace of the Yoruba
    Art in Ancient Ife, Birthplace of the Yoruba Suzanne Preston Blier rtists the world over shape knowledge and ancient works alongside diverse evidence on this center’s past material into works of unique historical and the time frame specific to when these sculptures were made. importance. The artists of ancient Ife, ances- In this way I bring art and history into direct engagement with tral home to the Yoruba and mythic birthplace each other, enriching both within this process. of gods and humans, clearly were interested in One of the most important events in ancient Ife history with creating works that could be read. Breaking respect to both the early arts and later era religious and political the symbolic code that lies behind the unique meanings of Ife’s traditions here was a devastating civil war pitting one group, the Aancient sculptures, however, has vexed scholars working on this supporters of Obatala (referencing today at once a god, a deity material for over a century. While much remains to be learned, pantheon, and the region’s autochthonous populations) against thanks to a better understanding of the larger corpus of ancient affiliates of Odudua (an opposing deity, religious pantheon, Ife arts and the history of this important southwestern Nigerian and newly arriving dynastic group). The Ikedu oral history text center, key aspects of this code can now be discerned. In this addressing Ife’s history (an annotated kings list transposed from article I explore how these arts both inform and are enriched by the early Ife dialect; Akinjogbin n.d.) indicates that it was during early Ife history and the leaders who shaped it.1 In addition to the reign of Ife’s 46th king—what appears to be two rulers prior core questions of art iconography and symbolism, I also address to the famous King Obalufon II (Ekenwa? Fig.
    [Show full text]
  • UC Irvine Journal for Learning Through the Arts
    UC Irvine Journal for Learning through the Arts Title UNITY IN DIVERSITY: THE PRESERVED ART WORKS OF THE VARIED PEOPLES OF ABEOKUTA FROM 1830 TO DATE Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2fp9m1q6 Journal Journal for Learning through the Arts, 16(1) Authors Ifeta, Chris Funke Idowu, Olatunji Adenle, John et al. Publication Date 2020 DOI 10.21977/D916138973 eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Unity in Diversity: Preserved Art Works of Abeokuta from 1830 to Date and Developmental Trends * Chris Funke Ifeta, **Bukola Odesiri Ochei, *John Adenle, ***Olatunji Idowu, *Adekunle Temu Ifeta * Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijagun, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, Nigeria. **Faculty of Law, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria ** *University of Lagos, Lagos State Please address correspondence to funkeifeta @gmail.com additional contacts: [email protected] (Ochei); [email protected] (Adenle); [email protected] (Ifeta, A.) Abstract Much has been written on the history of Abeokuta and their artworks since their occupation of Abeokuta. Yoruba works of art are in museums and private collections abroad. Many museums in the Western part of Nigeria including the National Museum in Abeokuta also have works of art on display; however, much of these are not specific to Abeokuta. Writers on Abeokuta works of art include both foreign and Nigerian scholars. This study uses historical theory to study works of art collected and preserved on Abeokuta since inception of the Egba, Owu and Yewa (Egbado) occupation of the town and looks at implications for development in the 21st century. The study involved the collection of data from primary sources within Abeokuta in addition to secondary sources of information on varied works of art including Ifa and Ogboni paraphernalia.
    [Show full text]
  • Women and Religion in Nigeria Fatai A
    Cleveland State University EngagedScholarship@CSU The ourJ nal of Traditions & Beliefs Michael Schwartz Library 2016 Women and Religion in Nigeria Fatai A. Olasupo Obafemi Awolowo University How does access to this work benefit oy u? Let us know! Follow this and additional works at: https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/jtb Part of the African American Studies Commons, African Languages and Societies Commons, Christianity Commons, Continental Philosophy Commons, History of Religion Commons, Islamic Studies Commons, Oral History Commons, Other Languages, Societies, and Cultures Commons, Other Religion Commons, and the Social History Commons Recommended Citation Olasupo, Fatai A. (2016) "Women and Religion in Nigeria," The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs: Vol. 2 , Article 10. Available at: https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/jtb/vol2/iss1/10 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Michael Schwartz Library at EngagedScholarship@CSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in The ourJ nal of Traditions & Beliefs by an authorized editor of EngagedScholarship@CSU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Olasupo: Women and Religion in Nigeria Introduction Religion in Africa in general, and in Nigeria in particular, has assumed dimensions hardly separable from politics to the extent that some nations in Africa have established national bodies to coordinate the affairs of the religious bodies in their nations. Nigeria is not least active here as it, long ago, established the National Advisory Council on Religious Affairs, whose membership of twenty-four persons was shared on equal basis by the Islamic and Christian religions.4 This arrangement is flawed in two important ways: the question of women and that of the African Traditional Religion.
    [Show full text]